More than 40 spring breakers test positive for coronavirus: Choosing between what we want to do and what we should do

Dr. Jim Denison is the CEO of Denison Forum.
His Daily Article and podcast globally reach over 160,000 subscribers. Dr. Denison guides readers to discern today’s news—biblically. He is the author of multiple books and has taught on the philosophy of religion and apologetics at several seminaries. Prior to launching Denison Forum in 2009, he pastored churches in Texas and Georgia. He holds a Ph.D and a Master of Divinity from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Jim and his wife, Janet, live in Dallas, Texas. They have two sons and four grandchildren.

About seventy college students from Texas boarded a
chartered a plane from Austin, Texas, to Mexico for spring break two weeks ago.
They went against the warnings of White House officials who asked people avoid
gatherings of more than ten people and all nonessential air travel.

These students are unfortunately not the only people to defy
stay-at-home orders and put themselves and others at risk.

I live in Dallas, Texas, where some joggers have continued to crowd trails and parks despite repeated requests by public officials not to do so. South African security forces are firing rubber bullets at people defying stay-at-home orders as they attempt to clear streets, parks, and other public places.

California’s governor closed all state parks to cars on
Sunday. The mayor of Los Angeles has threatened to shut off water and power to
businesses that remain open. On Monday, he temporarily shut down all farmers’
markets across the city.

By contrast, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has returned to self-isolation for another six days after his health minister was diagnosed with coronavirus. I tweeted the news earlier today along with this response: “The prudent sees danger and hides himself, but the simple go on and suffer for it” (Proverbs 27:12).

Why is it so difficult for us to stay at home?

Psychologists note that humans crave human touching, which
releases chemicals in the brain and body that make us happy. We have developed
as a species through collective community, whether in families, tribes, or
cities.

But there’s another factor at work as well: balancing
individualism with collectivism.

Choosing between what we want to do and what we should do

The first temptation is the foundation of all temptation:
“You will be like God” (Genesis 3:5). Be your own god by stealing
this or lying about that. Be your own god by what you do on the internet in
private. Be your own god by refusing to do what you’re asked to do when it conflicts
with what you want to do.

C. S. Lewis noted in The Problem of Pain: “From
the moment a creature becomes aware of God as God and of itself as self, the
terrible alternative of choosing God or self for the center is opened to it.
This sin is committed daily by young children and ignorant peasants as well as
by sophisticated persons, by solitaries no less than by those who live in
society: it is the fall in every individual life, and in each day of each
individual life, the basic sin behind all particular sins: at this very moment
you and I are either committing it, or about to commit it, or repenting [from]
it.”

Lewis is perceptive as usual. The next time you must choose
between what you want to do and what you should do, remember this: if you knew
what God knows, you would choose his will every time because you would always
understand why it is best for you.

In an email post he sent today, James Clear offers this observation: “Each day is a new battle to say yes to what matters and say no to what doesn’t. Focus is a practice.”